Amid rising calls for a liquor ban in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a campaign advocating for this demand. With the J&K Assembly’s Budget session scheduled to begin on March 3, the PDP has submitted a private member’s Bill aiming to prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol in the Union Territory (UT). Despite having only three MLAs, the PDP is preparing to raise several public concerns in the House. Waheed ur Rehman Para, the 36-year-old Pulwama MLA and leader of the PDP Legislature Party, also heads the party’s youth wing. In an interview, Waheed Para discussed a range of issues. Here are the key excerpts:

The PDP has submitted several private member Bills for the upcoming Assembly session. Why are they important?

Each MLA can present up to three private member Bills during a session. However, the Transaction of Business Rules for the Assembly has not been discussed with us, and we haven’t even received the draft. We were only notified that we could submit Bills. Our focus is on the widespread concerns in the community, particularly fears related to land dispossession and job security.

Our first private Bill, the Jammu and Kashmir (Regularisation and Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Public Land) Bill, 2025, aims to provide housing for families evicted from state land last year. We opposed these evictions at the time, and now that there is a government in place, we believe regularizing the land can help. Programs like PMAY already exist, so why create homelessness by evicting people who have lived on this land for 20 years? Their shelter needs to be secured.

The second Bill is the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Special Provisions for Regularization of Ad hoc, Daily Wagers, Need-Based, and Other Temporary Workers) Act, 2025. There are over one lakh daily wage workers in J&K, many of whom have dedicated 30 years of their lives to the government, only to be told they have no job security. This process is dehumanizing, especially as salaries are often delayed, causing distress to their families. We are calling for a job security Bill to cover all casual and daily wage workers.

Additionally, my colleague Mohammad Fayaz Mir has submitted the J&K Prohibition of Alcohol Bill, 2025.

We are also proposing the establishment of Sheikh ul Alam University in Pulwama.

There are concerns about the financial impact of a liquor ban in J&K. How do you propose compensating for the revenue lost from alcohol sales?

J&K already struggles with a high prevalence of drug abuse, and the population is grappling with this issue. When societal concerns, particularly related to tourist and women’s safety, are factored in, they should outweigh fiscal concerns.

Moreover, alcohol is not the only source of revenue for the J&K government. We have significant religious tourism—Mata Vaishno Devi, Amarnath Yatra, and other religious sites attract millions of visitors. Beyond the Muslim-majority character of J&K, this sends a message that we do not endorse alcohol consumption.

There are also financial implications in regularizing daily wage workers. How do you justify this in a revenue-deficit UT?

Yes, there are costs, but the government can apply the Minimum Wages Act to address this. How can a daily wager work 30 days a month for only Rs 3,000? There are numerous cases of families struggling to make ends meet. Many essential services rely on these workers—ambulance drivers, security guards, and irrigation workers, for example—yet they are not even counted as regular employees. Private security guards earn Rs 15,000 in a hospital, while government-employed counterparts make just Rs 5,000. This disparity must be addressed.

The PDP seems to be the strongest opposition to the National Conference (NC)-led government, particularly in the Valley. Why is that?

The BJP is effectively half of the government. The Lt Governor, who is the head of the government, is a nominee of the Centre. The BJP is not likely to oppose the head of the UT. They have direct access to the Lt Governor, and any BJP representatives can approach him for their needs. All officers are aware of who holds the reins, and they follow their direction. In the Assembly, the opposition comprises just five of us.

The NC government has stated that it needs to work with the Centre to secure J&K’s interests. If the BJP won’t oppose them, where does this leave the PDP?

We are raising issues that matter to the people. Where the Centre is concerned, we raise our voice against the Central government. In terms of governance, we hold Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accountable. There are issues, such as the liquor ban and regularization, that fall within the Chief Minister’s purview. These require urgent debate and action.

While issues like Article 370 are beyond the scope of the 90 elected MLAs, and the restoration of statehood may be out of our immediate reach, the NC government must address issues within their competence urgently. They need to take up these matters one by one and give real value to the Assembly.